Microsoft West Des Moines Campus

Des Moines's economy is dominated by insurance (Principal Financial, Nationwide, Wells Fargo's mortgage operations made it the third-largest US insurance hub), agriculture and agribusiness, and Microsoft's massive West Des Moines data center campus that has anchored Iowa as a hyperscaler destination. Five tracked facilities and roughly 400 NAICS 518 jobs (estimated) — Microsoft alone is one of the largest data center campus footprints in the country.

The trades pool is small at 2,870 electricians ($62,840) and just 900 HVAC technicians ($62,640) — virtually identical wages, making HVAC competitive given the shorter ramp. The 3,780 maintenance and repair workforce earns $50,780, above national. The Microsoft campus drives an outsized share of skilled trades hiring relative to metro size.

For a trades worker, Des Moines is a sleeper market: small but with concentrated hyperscaler demand. Best fit for electricians and HVAC technicians willing to work the West Des Moines campus and adjacent expansion projects. Low cost of living substantially boosts real wage value.